Boston Tech Watch: Bain, New Google Project, Desktop Metal & More

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In recent Boston tech news, Bain Capital Ventures reloaded its coffers for early-stage tech investments. Android co-founder Rich Miner is working on a new project at Google. Several startups scooped up more cash, including 3D printing firm Desktop Metal. And a healthtech company changed hands. Read on for details.

—Bain Capital Ventures closed on a $600 million fund, with about half of the money reserved for Series A and B rounds, and the other half for larger, later-stage deals, Bloomberg reported. The new fund comes two years after Boston-based Bain raised a $650 million early-stage venture fund and a $200 million co-investment fund.

—Android co-founder Rich Miner will step down as a Google Ventures general partner to work on an education project housed within Google, Fortune reported. Details are sparse, but the “project” is not a company, Recode reported. Miner will continue living in Cambridge, MA, but most of his team will be located at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, CA. He will remain a venture partner with GV and keep some of his startup board seats, according to Fortune.

—Desktop Metal announced it received investments from GE Ventures and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures. The dollar amount wasn’t disclosed, but Desktop Metal said it has raised $52 million total from its backers; that’s roughly $4 million more than its total venture capital haul when we last covered the company, in April. Desktop co-founder and CEO Ric Fulop didn’t respond to a request for further comment.

The Lexington, MA-based startup has raised all that money in less than a year, as it works to develop a cheaper and smaller metal-making 3D printer. Its founders have backgrounds at A123 Systems, SolidWorks, Kiva Systems, MIT, and more.

—MiniLuxe raised $7.5 million from investors to help it expand its chain of nail and wax salons to California, BostInno reported. The Boston-based company currently has outlets in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Texas.

—2020 On-site Optometry said it raised $3 million from a long list of investors, bringing its total venture capital haul to $7.9 million. The Boston-based startup operates “mobile vision centers”—basically, large trucks that park outside businesses and schools, offering customers on-site services like eye exams and selling glasses and contacts.

—Dockwa raised $2 million for its app and website that enable boaters to book dock space, the Boston Globe reported. The company has raised $3.5 million from investors to date.

—Boston-based digital health company MeYou Health was sold by Healthways to a group led by healthcare entrepreneur Rick Lee and backed by Ballast Point Ventures, Blue Shield of California, and individual investors, according to a press release. In addition to the buyout, the new owners also injected growth capital into MeYou Health. The size of the purchase and investment wasn’t disclosed in the press release, but MeYou Health subsequently filed an SEC document indicating it raised more than $10 million.